Wednesday, March 7, 2018

Last week I announced on social media that we are expecting a baby in July! We are so very excited!

This baby is a true miracle and our rainbow baby. I haven't shared on my blog about wanting another child or our struggle. We had been told by numerous doctors G was a miracle and we probably never would be able to have another one. I went through a period of where I was grieving. It was a very difficult time for me. I feel I haven't been able to make very many choices when it comes to my health. They have all been made for me over the past 5 years.

I am so very thankful for little G. He is seriously the brightest miracle in my life!

I found out I was pregnant right before Thanksgiving. I honestly didn't have much hope this pregnancy would continue. A lot was going on right then. I had my sister coming to visit. I was going with my mom to Mayo Clinic for some health issues. I just tried to continue with life and I would go to the doctor after to see what was going on with the pregnancy. I didn't tell anyone I was pregnant. I just didn't want people worrying or giving me their opinion on things. This one wasn't planned at all and was a surprise. Yes, Yes, I know where babies come from and how they can happen. lol I am not going into the details of the 6+ months before, but there wasn't much hope.

We waited awhile to tell family and even longer to tell our friends.

G felt he had to tell everyone! He was with us at a doctor appointments when the doctor was talking about the baby and we could hear the heartbeat. G says momma open your mouf let me see that baby? He thinks the baby is the hangy thing in the back of your throat. lol

He then went to school and told everyone he was having a baby sister. He told the people at Sonic when we got our soda water he is having a baby sister. I had my friends little girl with me the day I picked up G from school, so his teachers thought that is who he was talking about.

He has been so excited. He keeps asking hasn't the baby been in your belly long enough?

At night he will pat my belly. He said I need to pat the baby, so it won't cry and go to sleep.

Monday, March 5, 2018

I know I haven't blogged in ages! I had a lot of stuff going over the past few months. I just needed to take a break.

1) I thought I would share a couple of recent purchases from Amazon. Who hates bra shopping? It kills me to spend $40-100 on a bra that will last for about 6 months. Ugh! Not only do they not last that long, but the process of trying to find one to fit is the biggest pain ever! I usually buy my bras from Lane Bryant. They fit me the best, quality is great and you can find a sale most of the time.

Well I decided to take a chance with Amazon and order this bra for $16.99. The nice thing with Amazon Prime is you can return things if they don't work. Well this bra is AMAZING!!!! I noticed the price keeps changing. Watch it and you can get it for under $20. Once the first one fit great I ordered a second one!

2) I don't think it's a secret how much I love coconut oil! I use that stuff all the time. I use it to take my eye make up off every night. I have been using it over my eczema before I put the other cream on it. It really has helped heal my skin nicely! I use it to cook the majority of the time.

Amazon had a full gallon on for $17.99. Normally I buy it at Costco where it is $17.99 for half that amount. I was sooooo excited when my sister told me about this deal. I quickly ordered a gallon! I think this should last us for a few months.

3) I have spent the past 3 months going through every closet, cupboard, dresser, shelf in this house getting rid of stuff. I decided in 2018 we were going to live simpler. Why do we have so much stuff sitting in cupboards just taking up space? Stuff we never ever use. I have taken sooooo much stuff to the thrift store lately. I think I have taken about 10 car loads. That is just awful! I have sold some things. Just the thought of trying to deal with a garage sale was exhausting. I haven't missed one thing that I have donated. I mean can you really miss things that have sat in the back of a closet for years? It is also so nice to open a cupboard or closet and see space.

4) I have been following Emily Ley on Facebook and Instagram. She has such great tips to simply life. Normally I do all our laundry on the weekend. I sort piles and do 3-5 loads on Saturday. I hate this and have for awhile. I mean the last thing I want to do on the weekend is laundry. I don't know why it's more irritating to me on the weekend then during the week. Well Emily suggested doing 1 load of laundry a day. Just grab whatever clothes are dirty, don't sort, use color safe detergent, put the washer on a short load and do 1 load a day. I started doing this around the first of the year. I don't have enough laundry with 3 people to do a load a day. I try to do it when the basket is looking a little full. It's so nice not to have this take up my weekend. Art doesn't ever run out of work shirts. G doesn't run out of pants. That boy goes through a lot of pants during the week.

Emily also says complete the entire load of laundry. You can just wash & dry it and leave it in a basket for week. You do everything all at one time. When it's done washing move it to the drier and as soon as it's dry fold and put it away! I have always been good about folding it right out of the drier. I do not like to iron or steam stuff. If I take it right from the drier it is very unlikely I have to iron or steam things.

5) I have a large closet that is FULL of clothes. When I worked I always wanted TONS of options. After I lost weight I bought a lot of clothes. It was soooo nice to be able to just go into any store and buy clothes. This was a new exciting thing for me. Now I stay home and I wear jeans almost every day. I have been going through my closet and getting rid of stuff. Stuff I know I don't even like, doesn't fit right and stuff I am just over. I have gotten rid of a TON of stuff.

I turned all my hangers around with all my shirts. When I wear one of them I put the hanger back in the correct way. It has helped me wear stuff I don't always wear. It is also helping me to see things I probably won't ever wear again. I want to give it a good 6 months before I decide on things. With the different seasons I can't get rid of short sleeve shirts in the winter.

When I have less clothes it is easier to get dressed. There is less stuff distracting me as to what to wear. I also sort all my clothes by colors. All my tshirts are in one section, all my button up or dressier tops in another section and my cardigans in one section. I keep everything sorted.

I am not including my dresses or skirts in the backward hanger challenge. I only wear them when it's warm. I have so few that I don't feel I need to get rid of any right now. I have gotten rid of a TON of dresses and skirts lately. Stuff that I wore to business meetings at work. Thing I don't see myself wearing. Even if I went back to work I would need to update somethings.

Friday, January 19, 2018

I recently took G and one of his friends to Sesame Street Live! He was sooooo excited to go see Cookie Monster! As you can see from the picture below he was so excited he couldn't sit still for a picture!

The show was about an hour and a half. He sat there the entire time!

A couple times he did get up to dance to some of the songs.

Ok Mom I will smile for one picture since you gave me a sucker!

Cookie Monster is G fav Sesame Street character! I didn't even realize this until the show.

We love going to these shows! He had to tell his grandparents all about going to see Cookie Monster and Melmo!

Thursday, January 18, 2018

It is really hard to believe that it has been 5 years since surgery and this whole cancer thing started! I feel so good about hitting the 5 year mark! No, I am not in remission. No, I am not cancer free. My cancer numbers are higher than they were after surgery. My tumors legions haven't really grown much in 5 years. They are still there! They haven't gone away. I have tried I feel almost everything I can to make those legions go away, but nothing seems to make them want to leave. However! I am thankful they have stayed stable! When you have cancer stable is always a refreshing thing to hear. I am very faithful about getting my blood work done every 3 months. I have done this for 5 years now. It's just part of my new normal. One of my doctors suggested we could move to getting blood work every 6 months. Nope! I like to see the trends. It might not mean much now, but down the road this information could be very helpful. She is a fabulous doctor and listens to me. In 5 years I have learned so much! I have learned so much about thyroid cancers and thyroid issues. Recently my mom had to go to the doctors about thyroid issues. I was able to go in there understand what the doctors were talking about and ask a lot of questions for all of us to understand exactly what was going on. Five years ago all of that would have gone over my head. I have always felt that my cancer diagnosis helped bring me G. We struggled for so long to have a baby. It was about a year after surgery that I was able to get pregnant with him. It also wasn't at my healthiest time either. I took the chance of getting pregnant with him. Some of my doctors at the time didn't agree with it. I am thankful I didn't listen to them. If I had I might not have him. It seems that MTC affects women and infertility really bad. My numbers were very low a year after surgery. I am thankful I took that chance and that I get to celebrate with him every year. We will eat paleo cookies today in honor of 5 years of life after cancer. I take G to the majority of my doctor appointments. At times I wonder if this is good or not. I want him to realize this is normal for our family. One day he will hear that one of his friends parents has cancer and he might think well doesn't everyone have a parent with cancer? He also isn't afraid of going to the doctor. He is brave when he has to get blood drawn. He comes with me most of the time to get mine done every 3 months. He isn't a fan of shots! He doesn't see me get shots lol. He sees me get ultrasounds, checked by the doctors, trying to be as healthy as I possibly can be and this is his normal. G had to get an ultrasound of his heart recently. He has born with 2 super small holes in his heart. Something that the doctors or us haven't been concerned about, but it's monitored every 3-5 years. He didn't flinch when he had to get checked or the ultrasound. I told the doctor he sees me go through a lot, so he thinks this is normal. You may not agree with how I parent my child when it comes to cancer. For us this works. For me it's important he is comfortable with all this. I don't want him to worry about things that none of us have control over. In 5 years I have seen some friends with MTC go quickly. It's always heartbreaking when you lose someone. There is something that hits you in your core. Then you have to remind yourself your MTC journey is different than theirs. MTC affects every single person differently. Five years out I am probably at my healthiest I have been in my adult life even with 2 major illnesses. I work really hard to eat healthy and do the best self care I possibly can do! My pray since G was born is that God would give me 30 years with him. I will happily take way more than 30 years.

Tuesday, January 16, 2018

George is really into having a lunch box and he wants to start eating at school with the other kids. He goes to preschool 2 half days a week. I pick him up before lunch, so he usually eats lunch in the car. The kid is starving when I pick him up. I learned very quickly he needs a full lunch to eat on the way home. Otherwise he was asking for 100 snacks. A pouch just wasn't cutting it. I think he burns a lot of energy at school and even though he has a snack there is isn't enough.

When Bentology gave us the opportunity to review one of their bento boxes I jumped at the chance! George likes to have different things for lunch, so little containers are perfect! Also when he starts going to a full day of preschool this will be a great way to pack his lunch for him.

I like the plastic containers. These can easily be put in the dishwasher or you can wash them out quickly. The box holds 4 containers. It comes with 5 containers. One of the containers is very small, so it's great for putting a gummy snack or dip for veggies. On the side you can put some silverware, yogurt packet, or a string cheese.

Here is what I was able to all fit in the box.

1 mini cucumber - I could have easily added another one or added some baby carrots.

1/2 cup of yogurt

1 cup of pasta - he only ate about half of this with all the other food.

1 cutie

small amount of homemade gummy snacks! We recently made these with kombucha and vital proteins. I don't care if G eats a ton of these because there is no artificial anything or sugar in them.

He LOVED this set up! He had me show him a couple times how to open the box. It can be a little tricky for a 3 year old to open, but he got it after I showed him about 3 times.

I really like that there are separate containers. I was able to put the lid back on the pasta and put it in the fridge for later. The other stuff he ate all of it right away. I easily washed the containers when I washed my pots & pans after making dinner.

If you would like to win your very own Bentology Bento Box I am giving one away on my Instagram account! Go check out the giveaway for your change to win!

If you would like to order your’s you can do so here: bentology.com and use code: ihelp25 for a 25% off discount between 1/15/18-1/22/18

Wednesday, December 6, 2017

Friday, December 1, 2017

Winter has arrived in California! It has been around the 60's, so that means we can pull out sweaters. I am sure any of you Midwesterners reading this are rolling your eyes. I plan to wear some of these outfits when I go to my parents. I need some warm, comfy clothes while I am traveling. If I think I am cold at 50 degrees in California I am going to die with the 10-30 degrees in North Dakota.

Some of these items are new and some are oldies. I will try to link up to what I can find.

I am struggling to find a utility vest right now at Old Navy or Gap. I guess it isn't the season for them. They do carry them very often! I think everyone has more holiday things out right now. Watch Old Navy for the fur vests. Last year I bought mine for 50% off during Thanksgiving time. I recently started a Pinterest board just for fur vest inspiration. I don't wear it other than the holiday season. I am going to try to wear it more this winter. I really love it!

The outfit above is really comfortable! It would be really good for traveling. There are plenty of pockets to put things especially when you are traveling with a toddler. I always need pockets when I am getting on and off planes. I need like 4 arms for getting on a plane. I really have a good system down, but still any mother could use a few more arms.

Tuesday, November 28, 2017

I usually decorate for Christmas the weekend after Thanksgiving. This year though I wanted my house decorated before my sister arrived a week before Thanksgiving. I think going forward I am going to decorate before Thanksgiving. I LOVE having the decorations up. It just makes things so much more festive. G helped me decorate the tree! He has a blast putting the ornaments on the tree!

G did a great job helping me put the ribbon around the tree!

A lot of the ornaments were put in one place. I had to move a couple, so we didn't have clumps of ornaments. lol I tried to just let him do it himself or suggest other areas so they were spread out. Next year I would like to put a little tree up in his room. I will let him do all the decorating himself, however he wants it done.

I bought this white Santa after the holidays one year. It is one of my favorite items. I just love that it is one solid color. The little white house on my shelf came from the dollar bin at Target. Depending on the Target some had a lot and others had none. I had to hunt for these.

I added a few decorations above the toys.

G knows we don't touch the decorations. One of his friends was playing with a bell. He said C that is a decoration we don't play with those. YES! I am glad he knows he shouldn't play with them and tells others not to play with decorations too!

Thursday, November 23, 2017

Wednesday, November 22, 2017

One of the best things ever invented was the Amazon Wish Lists!!!! My side of the family we all have a running wish list. It's wonderful to be able to go to the list and buy something the person actually wants. It's also fun to just send them a gift expectantly too! What do you buy grandparents for Christmas? I am all about not buying "stuff" people are going to end up throwing in a corner or in a closet until they decide to donate it. Have the grand kids make a video for the grandparents. You could do one for each. Here are some cute questions you could ask the kids to answer.

What makes Grandma/Grandpa happy?

What is Grandma/Grandpa favorite food?

How old is Grandma/Grandpa?

What does Grandma/Grandpa do when you aren't at their house?

What makes Grandma/Grandpa laugh?

What do you and Grandma/Grandpa do together?

What do you love most about Grandma/Grandpa?

My mother in law loves the Shutterfly calendars. I take pictures from over the past year and make her one every year. This helps because it is one item I know she will love it!

Who doesn't love a wonderful massage? Most people do! A spa day would be amazing. A massage, pedicure and/or facial. Everyone needs to relax and especially after the holidays!!!

Gift Cards!

Amazon Gift Cards!!! These are great for everyone! That way they can buy what they want. Some grandparents love their Kindle, so they can buy more books. Amazon offers every thing imaginable, so this is a great idea for anyone.

My dad always needs things and wants things from Tractor Supply. We bought him a gift card for his birthday. He called to tell us everything he bought with it. He liked being able to buy what he wanted and getting deals on things. If you know of your families favorite store this would be a great option.

Coffee or restaurant gift cards

The possibilities are endless when it comes to gift cards!

I hope this gives you some different ideas for your parents. Start making your list to get your Christmas shopping completed!

Monday, November 20, 2017

G loves to go to live shows! I have taken him to them since he was about 5 months old. I can't wait to take him to Sesame Street Live! He loves the characters!!! We can't wait to see Sesame Street Live!

There are 2 shows:

January 4 & 5 at the Paramount Theater in Oakland

January 6 & 7 at the City National Civic in San Jose

Use coupon code MOM to save 20% by January 6. You can buy your tickets HERE.

I will take lots of pictures and report back on what a great time we have at the party!!!

Thursday, November 16, 2017

I have been thinking about writing a post on how PTSD is real for someone who has gone through numerous miscarriages. I have so many thoughts roaming around in my head on this topic. Miscarriages are so much more common than people talk about these days. I am not sure why it is kept quiet. If people feel shame, they don't want to talk about the heart break or what the reason actually is, but I feel it's something we should talk about more. I have been pregnant a lot! I have 1 miracle little boy that I cherish so much! His entire pregnancy I didn't feel I could really relax. I didn't love being pregnant at all. I did love feeling him kicking inside me. Once I could start feeling his kicks it helped me relax just a little bit. He would kick a lot if I ate steak. There were times I would eat steak just to feel the ninja party inside! I just felt I wouldn't ever be able to relax until he was born. Once he was out it was such a relief! I remember when they laid him on my chest the relief I felt. Hearing his little cry was so sweet! I have gone through numerous miscarriages. More than you can count on 2 hands. They were soooo difficult! Every time I would get pregnant there was hope that things would be ok. This time things would be different. This one would make it! And numerous times I was met with such heart break. That hope you get when you see a positive pregnancy test, but then the fear that set in after you have been through a miscarriage. You are excited, but it doesn't ever last. It's hard to stay excited when you have faced heart break over and over. You don't share with people you are pregnant because you don't want to hear their comments. You have to protect yourself from stupid people's comments. People have no idea how to respond to a miscarriage most of the time. Here are some things you can say to someone when they lose a baby:

I am sorry for your loss.

I am sorry you have to go through this.

You are in my thoughts and prayers.

Can I bring you dinner or a coffee? Or just bring them a meal! Sometimes people don't want to put you out, but if you show up at their door with a meal they won't refuse it.

I can't imagine what you are going through, but I am here for you. OR I know what you are going through and I am here if you need to talk.

Things you should NEVER say to someone:

Have you thought about adopting?

Something must have been wrong with the baby, so God decided to take it.

Maybe God feels the earth has enough people, so we need to stop populating it.

You shouldn't try to have anymore babies.

You need to relax and not stress about being pregnant or a miscarriage.

It's better to have lost it now than after it's born.

I have had people say those lovely NEVER statements above to me. WTF! I am not going to even go into the nasty thing I have wanted to say to people. People are stupid! For someone who has gone through numerous miscarriage once you get pregnant every trip to the bathroom is scary. You worry you might see blood this time. Prior miscarriages go through your mind often. I went through 7 miscarriages in one of my offices. One was really bad. I stood up from my desk not even knowing I was pregnant and all of a sudden there was a gush of blood on the floor. Those memories don't just go away the next time you get pregnant. Instead those memories haunt you. You worry this time could that happen again!Being pregnant after a miscarriage is such a scary thing! My heart goes out to all of you who have experienced a miscarriage. I also understand the scariness of trying to have a baby after experiencing a miscarriage.

Monday, November 13, 2017

1) Thank goodness today is Monday and not a Friday! I am not a fan of Friday the 13th! My friend from high school and I were always soooo superstitious. We would go out of our way to avoid a black cat. We were always on edge on Friday the 13th. Random thought I had while typing out November 13. lol2) We just got back from South Padre Island, Texas. We were there for a week. It was an amazing trip! We did a lot of relaxing. G just loves the pool! It was hard to get him out of there at times. He liked the beach, but the pool was his favorite. The first day he was a little hesitant, but within an hour he was floating all over. I am going to work on a whole blog post about things to do in South Padre with a toddler, reviews of restaurants, review of items we brought with us, and our resort. I have a lot of posts planned, but I have a rough 2 weeks coming up! I will do what I can. I wanted to post some gift guides. That might not happen since the holidays are just flying upon us. I still need to figure out what we are doing for Christmas cards! Usually I have them done and printed by now. Yikes!3) Are you looking for some small businesses to buy from for the holidays? Check out the ihelpmoms holiday guide for up to 30% on the Best Mom’s Holiday Gifts!!! There are some great companies that are offering discount codes. I love SIC Cups. I blogged about them here.

4) Next week my sister will be here for a week! We have been making menus and itineraries for the past month! I can't wait for her to come. The last time she was here was for Christmas right after G was born. It will be nice to have her here for a week. I always love having my family with me at the holidays.

Lacey wants to take her fiance to Alcatraz. I have gotten to the point I give instructions to people on how to get there, but I don't go anymore. I want to wait until G wants to go there to go again. I have already been 3 times. It's a great tour! I highly recommend it! I think once you have gone once you don't really need to go again. =)

5) There are always firsts! This year I am going to decorate for Christmas before Thanksgiving. I want all the decor up before my sister gets here. We are going to celebrate Christmas with her while she is here. I don't want to deal with putting it all up when she is here, so I am going to do it this week with G. He has LOVED Halloween. He doesn't want to take the decorations down. I think once he realizes we are putting up the Christmas tree he will love it. I put up my Halloween, fall and Thanksgiving decorations up at the same time. I am really looking forward to Christmas with G this year. He tells us all the time stuff he wants for his birfday and Christmas.

I hope you have a fabulous week!

Disclaimer: All thoughts and opinions are my own. The post Monday Thrive appeared first on MrsPost08 Blog.

Tuesday, November 7, 2017

When is the last time you were able to enjoy a hot cup of coffee without heating it up 3 times? I have a routine for my mornings. On non-school days I get up, brush my teeth, take my thyroid pill, and make myself a cup of coffee. I usually go back to bed to drink part of it as G start's to wake up. I love coffee! I have tried to give it up many many times. I have been successful at not drinking coffee for over a year at a time. Once I have it though I love the taste and the smell. I have finally gotten to a place where I am like I don't care if people have opinions that coffee might not be healthy. I need my one cup of coffee each morning because I love it!

SIC Cups so graciously gifted me 3 of their mugs to try. I have been using them for the past 3 weeks. I LOVE them!!!! My drinks stay freezing cold or piping hot for hours! Long are the days where you need to reheat your coffee if you are using one of these amazing cups! I made a cup of green tea in my cup and it was so hot for over an hour I couldn't even drink it. I finally added a couple ice cubes just so I could start to drink it. Now one of the tricks is that you must keep the lid on the cup. I made a cup of bone broth, put it in the 12 oz salmon cup, but I didn't put the lid on it and within an hour it was cold.

The 27 oz SIC Bottle is great for strollers! I hooked it to my stroller with a hook and it dangled nicely for our walk. It kept my water freezing cold until we got to the park. This will be a great bottle to travel with! I can add ice and water at the airport for a cold drink on the plane. It will be great to have a cold drink at the beach!

I love this mint green mug! I use this one for tea, coffee, or smoothies.

This 12 oz SIC cocktail cup is adorable! I don't use it for cocktails. I think the mint green is more of a cocktail size lol I do love this size for a cup of half caff coffee in the afternoon, bone broth or tea before bed.

These cups come with a LIFETIME Warranty!!! That alone is amazing and makes it worth the cost! We all know what happens to cups when you have toddlers! All three of the cups above fit in my car cup holder which is a must! I usually have 2-3 drinks in the car with me at all times. Water, coffee, smoothie or bone broth. It makes Art a little crazy when I have all the cup holders filled. Hey I need to stay hydrated! :)

Check out the ihelpmoms holiday guide for up to 30% on the Best Mom’s Holiday Gifts!!!